What is productivity? Here at Gamelearn we talk a lot about it and also about time management, but do you really know what it means? According to the dictionary, the definition of productivity is the “feature of that which is productive”, that is, “which is useful or profitable”. If you want to find out whether your business is productive or not, read on:
Philosophy of life
Understanding what productivity is and learning how to increase it can help you improve your organization. What is productivity? Productivity is a philosophy of life, a state of mind. Being efficient means doing, at every moment, what we consciously choose to do and not what we feel we are doing forced by circumstances. Productivity means adopting an attitude for continued improvement.
Value and time
It is often that we find the definition of productivity associated with topics such as “value” and “time”. The definition has changed over time. The concept, however, has always been tied to that relationship between production and the utilization of those resources at our disposal.
Of course, other elements have an influence on the productivity and efficiency of our business. Factors such as the workload, invested capital, technology used, available resources, number of employees and their training, staff motivation, etc., all of them play an important role when considering productivity.
Time management is, nevertheless, the determining factor when we talk about optimization and productivity. Time is necessary for everything, so it is only logical that investing in proper time management will ultimately benefit our productivity, both personally and professionally speaking.
Quantity vs Quality
We must not make the mistake of thinking that productivity is just “doing more in less time.” The importance given to the number of completed tasks, completed projects, etc, is part of a misconception about efficiency, which often causes discomfort in the employee, who feels pressured by this.
Let’s consider, for example, the productivity of a blogger. Who is more productive, the one who manages to improve the traffic to their blog and, consequently, generates a greater impact among their readers; or the one who only focuses on publishing as many posts as possible?
This latter blogger, concerned only with “doing more in less time,” will only get to publish a large number of words and messages that few people will actually read. However, the first blogger, focused on the “value” of their work, is actually more efficient because they have previously analyzed their influence, have looked for a way to optimize resources and have written with the goal of contributing to something. Even though they will write in smaller quantities, they will achieve a greater impact on the Net with their publications. They will have optimized their resources.
Productivity and Leadership
The true responsibility of productivity is upon the shoulders of the company’s leaders, who should follow effective methods for getting the most out of time management for the entire organization. It is in their hands to provide their teams with guidelines and practical tips that will improve efficiency.
If the staff receives clear guidance on what their objectives are and has the tools to avoid wasting time, we can consider that an efficient society, able to organize the day-to-day in a practical and simple manner.
Workers will find the balance between professional and personal productivity, because they will be able to detect those elements that cause them to be unproductive.
In this regard, the leaders of organizations do their best so that their teams will know what their goals are, their everyday “guiding tasks”. Knowing how to prioritize in order to be efficient; that is the key to productivity.
Learn more: How to improve your productivity with the Eisenhower Matrix
Short term and long term productivity
Developing a diagnosis that will allow us to examine and identify obstacles hindering our productivity is vital to efficiently implement actions oriented towards improvement. This is the only way we will be able to establish a system to prioritize tasks and set goals towards which we want to direct our company.
Nowadays, all companies are concerned with establishing a productivity model that will ensure short and long term competitiveness and meeting quality, efficiency and innovation standards. If an organization does not care about being productive, it will eventually fail and be left outside the market.
Keeping in mind the meaning of productivity and trying to identify those areas where we can improve will help us focus on the most important goals we want to achieve and, in the long term, will make us succeed.
In summary, considering productivity an essential factor is crucial for an organization, as it allows to assess its progress and know where it stands with respect to previous years, costs, human resources, etc.
Productivity and new technologies
Over the years, new technologies have been playing an increasingly important and influential role on the final result of productivity: tablets, smartphones, computers, etc., let employees and team members be online anytime, from anywhere, dramatically improving production processes. The trend is for us to become more and more productive.
By definition, using a mobile device to, for instance, take notes, makes us use our time and resources better than ever before. This connectivity, however, also implies the risk of a greater number of distractions. With the right guidance, we will be able to avoid them.
It may interest you: Put technology on hold for effective communication
Productivity and Training
A good way to learn how to dodge those obstacles that are harmful to our efficiency are productivity courses. A lot of organizations implement this kind of training to guide their employees towards efficient practices and the correct use of time. Through practical advice and recommendations, the teams can develop the necessary soft skills to improve their personal and professional life: holding effective meetings, using emails efficiently, balancing work and family life, etc.
If we want to be a part of productive organizations, we must implement actions and mechanisms for the continuous improvement in favor of the efficiency of teams and individuals.